Bioinformatic analysis of molecular characteristics and oncogenic features of CARD14 in human cancer.

Aberrant caspase recruitment domain family member 14 (CARD14) signaling has been strongly associated with inflammatory skin conditions. CARD14 acts as a scaffold protein, ultimately activating the transcription factor NF-KB. Although primarily studied in the context of inflammation, recent research has suggested its potential implications in tumorigenesis. In this study, we gathered The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tumor data to gauge the involvement of CARD14 in cancer, including genetic alterations, expression patterns, survival correlations, immune cell infiltration and functional interactions across diverse cancer types. We found heightened CARD14 expression in most tumors and there was a significant correlation between CARD14 expression and the prognosis of patients for certain tumors. For instance, patients with higher CARD14 expression had a better prognosis in sarcoma, lung, cervix and head and neck cancers. Moreover, CARD14 expression positively correlated with neutrophil infiltration in most of the cancer types analyzed. Finally, enrichment analysis showed that epithelial development and differentiation pathways were involved in the functional mechanism of CARD14. Our results show that CARD14 may have the potential to become a prognostic biomarker in several cancers, hence, further prospective studies will be required for its validation.

Riluzole-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for Hyperproliferative Skin Diseases.

Nanocarriers, and especially nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), represent one of the most effective systems for topical drug administration. NLCs are biodegradable, biocompatible and provide a prolonged drug release. The glutamate release inhibitor Riluzole (RLZ) is a drug currently used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with anti-proliferative effects potentially beneficial for diseases with excessive cell turnover. However, RLZ possesses low water solubility and high light-sensibility. We present here optimized NLCs loaded with RLZ (RLZ-NLCs) as a potential topical treatment. RLZ-NLCs were prepared by the hot-pressure homogenization method using active essential oils as liquid lipids, and optimized using the design of experiments approach. RLZ-NLCs were developed obtaining optimal properties for dermal application (mean size below 200 nm, negative surface charge and high RLZ entrapment efficacy). In vitro release study demonstrates that RLZ-NLCs allow the successful delivery of RLZ in a sustained manner. Moreover, RLZ-NLCs are not angiogenic and are able to inhibit keratinocyte cell proliferation. Hence, a NLCs delivery system loading RLZ in combination with natural essential oils constitutes a promising strategy against keratinocyte hyperproliferative conditions.